# Wine education



## D. Generate (Jul 1, 2004)

My wife has gone on a tear lately and bought a few boxes of wine. She has also joined a club where they'll be sending more bottles every couple months.

I'm delighted. Not so much for the wine, but because it gives her something to collect and takes the heat off my cigar purchases. :tu

She knows a lot about wine, although I suspect she's a bit of a snob with focusing on European ones. Her family are all wine drinkers and she comes from a wine drinking culture so she has a background.

I don't have a background. I like whisky and beer. While I've had wine I've liked a lot, I couldn't tell you which ones they were or know how to pick them out of a lineup. Since she's getting all of these wines and, presumably we'll be drinking them, I want to know more.

I'm kind of a nerd so I like researching these sort of things. Any good wine books or sites a knowledgeable gorilla can point me towards? Something that starts basic would be good, but I also want to be able to get into the nitty gritty of it all.


----------



## aldukes (Aug 23, 2007)

the only book youll ever need: http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Companion-Wine-3rd/dp/0198609906

its a bit expensive- so get it used.


----------



## Heliofire (Mar 16, 2007)

aldukes said:


> the only book youll ever need: http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Companion-Wine-3rd/dp/0198609906
> 
> its a bit expensive- so get it used.


Or these two as well
http://www.amazon.com/Sothebys-Wine-Encyclopedia-Fourth-Revised/dp/0756631645
http://www.amazon.com/Wine-Bible-Karen-MacNeil/dp/1563054345

I have a friend that was going to school to be a sommelier and that Sothebys book was on of her text books. Also wine enthusiast has a tasting kit that could also help. http://www.wineenthusiast.com/E/det...2676&uid=E4C23849-3C89-4716-8466-BD303E1DC65B My wife gave it to me for Christmas and I found that it has helped me get more knowledgeable about different wine tastes.


----------



## mosesbotbol (Sep 21, 2005)

Michael Broadbent has an excellent book on wine and port. The best way to learn wine is by sticking with one region until you have a firm grip on it. I would start off with Bordeaux. Read on the region and appealations. Read up on the tiers of producers and what grapes they use... Then get some bottles with good ratings and try to feel with the top reviewers are saying about the wine, and try to describe yourself.

Wine is a life journey so no one is expert overnight, and most do not have the pallet to be expert (like me), but we can enjoy and relish in it as much as anyone.


----------



## tedski (Oct 1, 2004)

The best education is experience. 

- Try drinking wine with dinner every night ... one glass is actually good for your overall health and will not get you drunk. 
- Keep a journal and write down what you smell, taste and see + the name of the wine. 
- Get together with your relatives and discuss your desire to get more educated about wine. Perhaps they already have some books you can borrow.
- Check out your area to see if there are wine tasting bars or even wine tasting groups.
- Enjoy!


----------



## KenS (Feb 22, 2008)

D. Generate said:


> I'm kind of a nerd so I like researching these sort of things. Any good wine books or sites a knowledgeable gorilla can point me towards? Something that starts basic would be good, but I also want to be able to get into the nitty gritty of it all.


I've heard real good things about this:

Wine Spectator School


----------



## J.Bachrach (Dec 14, 2007)

For those in MI there is a Wine Expo next week in Novi. Looks like some seminar's on wine, tasting, and some special foods. Maybe look in your area for something similar.

http://www.michiganwineexpo.com/


----------



## tedski (Oct 1, 2004)

I neglected to mention one online website that is an excellent resource for general wine education / knowledge. It's the Wine for Newbies podcast series done by Bill Wilson. He is a wine lover with many years of personal experience and instructor of Wine Appreciation courses at the University of Indiana - South Bend. In fact, some of his podcasts are copies of his actual class lectures.

Give it a listen: http://winefornewbies.net/audio.html


----------



## FEAR (Dec 16, 2007)

This guy's a little crude and rough around the edges, but funny. 
http://www.wineass.com/


----------



## tzaddi (Feb 24, 2007)

D. Generate said:


> My wife has gone on a tear lately and bought a few *boxes of wine*. She has also joined a club where they'll be sending more bottles every couple months.


Much of the descriptive vocabulary that you have acquired through your appreciation of cigar can carry over to your wine education. I am sure you will do well. :tu

BTW From the level of experience your wife has I bet that she bought "*cases*" of wine.


----------



## D. Generate (Jul 1, 2004)

Well her cases arrived in a Semi-plain cardboard box. 

Thanks for all of the info and the links to books and websites. I will definitely be checking them out. Tomorrow we'll crack open a bottle with a nice Spanish dinner and I'll see what I can get out of it.


----------



## Mark C (Sep 19, 2007)

Y'all missed one: http://www.amazon.com/Windows-World...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1207315950&sr=1-1

Kevin Zraly's 'Windows on the World'. I think it's a fantastic book for a beginner. It was one of our textbooks in a wine course I took at VT. It's very easy to read and will give you an excellent basic understanding of how wine is made, the differences between regions, how to taste, etc. It's the only 'textbook' I still read 

Beyond the basics, the only way to learn is to drink a lot. It's hard work, but somebody's gotta do it


----------

